It’s time to celebrate the first 6 months of Mystery Mondays. Leading us to the end of the year is Laurence St. John with the final Mystery Monday of 2015. He has some excellent advice on dealing with writer’s block.

But first, Laurence is the author of the young adult fantasy/sci-fi novel series Metatron. Click on the book covers to find the novels on Amazon. Just remember, Christmas is coming soon, and these books would make awesome gifts…

My Secret Remedy for Writer’s Block by Laurence St. John:

For writers or even kids in school working on an essay or any other writing assignment – I’m sure at least one point in time while writing or in school you have had writers block. I did – several times when I began by writing career. When I was in school, teachers told me to keep writing/typing stuff no matter if it made sense or not. The purpose behind it was to keep my mind active. After a few minutes or even longer for some, something I wrote would spark an idea to get me back on track on what I was originally writing. Early in my writing career it was recommended to me that I should walk away from my work and take a break. However, I didn’t do what I was told – sshh, don’t tell.  

My secret…

First of all, I don’t have time to walk away from my work when I know I have a personal deadline to attain. Therefore what I do for writers block is to metaphorically kill two birds with one stone. I will run on my treadmill for a few minutes to get my heart rate up. Or instead of running I will perform sit-ups and push-ups. This gets my blood flowing as well as my mind. From what I  have read, exercise triggers a kind of chain reaction beginning with the release of chemicals that stimulate increased blood flow, which in turn causes the brain to perform more efficiently in numerous ways.

Exercise is my remedy for writers block.  

 

 

Bio: Laurence A. St. John was born on January 11, 1965 in Toledo Ohio. Laurence has one older brother and two younger sisters. Laurence along with his parents, brother and sisters moved once while growing up to Genoa Ohio, just south of Toledo. While attending Genoa Area schools, he was active in track, football and baseball. Later, after he graduated from Genoa High School (Comets) in 1983, he worked for a few manufacturing companies.  

At the age of 23 and after three years of dedication, hard work and sweat, in 1988, Laurence received his first-degree black belt (Shodan) in Tae Kwon Do. This gave him the self-confidence and perseverance needed to surmount anything that came his way.  

When Laurence was 25 years old he fell in love then married the love of his life, Julie in 1990. He then adopted her two young wonderful children Joe and Jan shortly after.  

Out of high school for nearly fifteen years and after persuaded by his former manager, Laurence attended Owens State Community College where he obtained an Associates Degree in Microcomputer Business Systems while working full-time. In addition to computer classes, he enjoyed composition classes where he could free his mind and write what he wanted.  

While working in the steel processing business for almost fifteen years, Laurence’s place of employment changed hands, for the third time in 2006; fighting for his job, again. In the same year his first granddaughter, Kendall, “Papa’s Angel” was born. He described this as one of the most uplifting moments of his life. In addition, it was during this time when his emotions were running wild; he became inspired as well as determined to write his penned-up thoughts on paper.  

Nearly four years later, he had completed his first middle grade/teen fantasy/sci-fi novel, Metatron: The Angel Has Risen. In addition his second novel, Metatron: The Mystical Blade was published in August 2014. The next Metatron novels in the series are projected to be published in 2016 and 2018.  

Laurence currently lives in Northwood Ohio with his wife of 26 years, Julie. His son Joe is married to Cari and they have three daughters, Kendall, Sadie and Harper. His daughter Jan is married to Andrew and they have a son Eli and a daughter Evelyn. Laurence currently holds the position of Administrations Manager at Precision Strip, Inc. in Perrysburg Ohio, where he works full time. He continually writes in his spare time; weekends and after work, and is endlessly inspired by his five grandkids Kendall, Elijah, Sadie, Evelyn and Harper.    

You can find Laurence at:

Website: http://www.laurencestjohn.com  

Blog: http://laurencestjohn.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurencestjohn

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/laurenceastjohn  

    ***

I know the suspense is killing you…when will the next Mystery Monday be? Who will kick off 2016? Well…

The international best-selling author and CEO of Imajin Books, Cheryl Kaye Tardif, will guest blog on Monday, January 4th!